Families nearby allegedly used planks of wood to cross the SWD.
BENGALURU: A two-and-a-half-year old girl drowned after accidentally falling into a storm water drain near Doddabommasandra in Vidyaranyapura police limits on Tuesday morning.
The girl, Tanushree, was the daughter of Sabbanna and Lakshmi. The family, which hails from Kalaburagi, lives in a shed next to the storm water drain, which does not have any barrier, in Doddabommasandra for the last four to five years. Her parents work as daily wage workers in the same area.
On Tuesday morning, her parents were away at work, and the girl was alone inside the shed. While playing near the shed, she accidentally fell into the drain, which is nearly 10 feet deep. After nearly an hour, Lakshmi’s brother came home and did not see the girl. Alarmed, he and the girl’s parents started searching for her everywhere. They then found her in the storm water drain and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared brought dead, the police said.
The body was handed over to her family after the post-mortem at MS Ramaiah Hospital.
An official said that a case has been filed against BWSSB officer Gopalakrishna and others for granting permission for the family to stay next to the storm water drain illegally.
Mayor Sampath Raj, who visited the spot, announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family of the deceased. He told Yelahanka zonal engineer Parmeshwar to build safety barriers across the storm water drain to prevent such accidents.
A senior official said that families used wooden planks to cross the drain, which is filled with sewage water. “More than 10 families who have come from different places have encroached the area and built small sheds next to the storm water drain. These families also use the drain as an open air toilet. BBMP officials know about the encroachment, but have not taken any action,” said a resident who lives in an apartment nearby.
